Crisis of Global Capitalism e-bog

This collection of essays outlines a new political economy. Twenty years after the demise of Soviet communism, the global recession into which free-market capitalism has plunged the world economy provides a unique opportunity to chart an alternative path. Both the left-wing adulation of centralized statism and the right-wing fetishization of market liberalism are part of a secular logic that is collapsing under the weight of its own inner contradictions. It is surely no coincidence that the crisis of global capitalism occurs at the same time as the crisis of secular modernity. Buildingon the tradition of Catholic social teaching since the groundbreakingencyclicalRerum Novarum(1891), PopeBenedict XVI'sCaritas in Veritateis the most radical intervention in contemporarydebates on the future of economics, politics, and society.Benedict outlines aCatholic "e;third way"e; that combines strict limits on state and market power witha civil economy centered on mutualistbusinesses, cooperatives, credit unions,and other reciprocal arrangements. Hiscall for a civil economy also representsa radical"e;middle"e; position between an exclusively religious and a strictlysecular perspective. Thus, Benedict's vision for an alternative politicaleconomy resonates with people of all faiths and none.